rUUtiRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES. 5 



keep the luitelieries from lunin^ Miccess in pr()i)ii<i;!itiii«2; lish, hut they 

 do make the output less iuul the cost more. I'hey iuvolxe waste, and 

 it will pay, thei'elore, to lind and remove the cause. It lias nhvays 

 heen sui)i)osed and was seemin^jjly estahlisiied by pui)lished descrip- 

 tions that the e<i:<;s of salmonida* are passed into the abdominal cavity 

 and thence dischar^aHl. Kecently Dr. W. C. Kendall, scientific as- 

 sistant, as the result of anatomical researches, discovered that the 

 published descriptions were wrono- as referrin<^ to the several species 

 which have come under observation. lie has found that the mem- 

 brane by which the ovary is sus[)ended enfolds it in such a manner 

 that the mature e<::<is do not normally fall into the abdominal cavity 

 but pass along a sort of trouiih formed by a continuation of the sus- 

 pending and enfolding membrane of each ovary, which extends to a 

 point not far from the outlet, where the two unite into a single 

 trough attached to the upper surface of the intestine. It is also ap- 

 ])arent from the conditions discovered that eggs which escape into the 

 body cavity could not in any conceivably normal way be subsequently 

 discharged. The escape of eggs into the abdominal chamber is then 

 abnormal, and the common observation of eggs in this space may be 

 presumed to result from the improper handling of fish in artificial 

 spawning operations or in preparation for dissection. 



It was suspected that the bad condition of brood trout at some 

 fish-cultural stations may have been due to rough or careless handling 

 during spawn taking. Exam'ination of specimens sent in from sev- 

 eral stations strengthened this suspicion. Dr. Kendall then pro- 

 ceeded to visit a fish-cultural station, observe carefully the operations 

 of spawn taking, and make immediate examinations of the fish. The 

 results of the observations made at one of the best stations, taken 

 in connection with the studies just mentioned, indicate that the 

 abnormal conditions referred to were probably due, not so much to 

 careless spawn takers as to wrong practices. Improvements in 

 method are required, though additional thought and study seem nec- 

 essary before explicit directions can be given. 



j^TLANTIC SMELTS. 



Dr. W. C. Kendall, with the aid of D. R. Crawford, is completing 

 a monograph of the species of the smelts (Osmerus) of the Atlantic 

 coast of North America. The smelts are abundant and widely dis- 

 tributed fish of small size, which are of value not only in the markets, 

 but also in the water as a source of food for game and food fish 

 of larger size. The studies pertain to the geographical distribution, 

 life history, grow^th, habits, habitats, and importance, and to the 

 conditions of conservation both of the marine and the fresh-water 

 smelts. Particular attention is given to those of New England and 

 to the '• ice fish " of Lake Champlain. There are indications of local 

 races of marine smelts, and some fresh waters apjjear to be inhabited 

 each by a race or species, distinct not only from the marine smelt but 

 also from smelts of other fresh waters. The variation in size attained 

 in some of the fresh waters of Maine is remarkable. Some lakes are 

 inhabited by two distinct sizes of mature smelts, each having well- 

 defined breeding seasons and subsisting upon different kinds of food. 

 In one lake the minimum size of the small smelt when mature is 



